California Plastic Bag Ban on Hold

More than 800,000 signatures collected opposing statewide ban on plastic bags.

January 05, 2015

SACRAMENTO – Business groups trying to overturn a new California law that bans single-use plastic bags at retailers throughout the state announced this week that they've collected more than enough signatures to put their referendum on the November 2016 ballot. If the referendum qualifies, the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags will be suspended until voters weigh in on the issue.

The ban was scheduled to be phased in starting in July 2015 at large grocery stores and supermarkets, with convenience stores and pharmacies complying in 2016.

The plastic bag manufacturing trade group American Progressive Bag Alliance said it was turning in more than 800,000 petition signatures to county registrars by Monday's deadline to qualify the referendum. The bill in question, SB270, was signed into law last September by California Governor Jerry Brown, marking a major milestone for environmental activists who have successfully pushed plastic bag bans in cities across the United States, including Chicago, Austin, Texas, and Seattle. Hawaii is also on track to have a de facto statewide ban, with all counties approving prohibitions.

More than 100 cities and counties in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, already have such bans. According to news reports, a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll showed 6 in 10 California voters support the law. The survey showed support for banning plastic bags is even higher in communities that already had a ban.

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